Fear and behavior of young pheasants reared with or without parent figure

Santilli, Francesco; Bagliacca, Marco

doi:10.1177/1758155919826765

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Lack of behavioral synchrony, as a consequence of constant, uniform heat and light may cause active birds to disturb and feather-peck resting birds (Gilani, et al 2012) which can disrupt sleeping patterns, cause injury and be stressful for the recipient. Young pheasants reared with a foster mother showed a lower stress level and a higher response to a simulated aerial predator compared to artificially reared pheasant (Santilli & Bagliacca 2019).…”

Section: Absence Of Adultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Tonic immobility levels increased with age within a rearing treatment, suggesting either a developmental process or indicating that the individual was experiencing poorer welfare as they grew older (Nowaczewski, et al 2012). Tonic immobility was higher in chicks that were artificially reared compared to birds that were reared with foster parents suggesting that they were more fearful (Santilli & Bagliacca 2019). A final study investigated dust bathing, considered to be indicative of positive welfare in poultry (Olsson & Keeling 2005).…”

Section: Summary Of Published Work That Specifically Assesses Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

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The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards

Madden¹,

Santilli²,

Whiteside³

2020

Anim. welf.

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Globally, over 110 million game birds are reared annually and released for recreational hunting. Game birds differ from other reared livestock because they experience two very distinct environments during their lives. Chicks are first reared in captivity for 6–12 weeks under managed, stable conditions and then released into the wild. A limited set of 13 studies have explored how the rearing conditions experienced by chicks influences their pre-release welfare, typically in terms of physical injury (feather-pecking) or behavioural assays of stress responses. However, no studies have considered the specific indicators of welfare of game birds after release. We therefore need to draw from studies that do not specifically investigate welfare but instead ones that examine how rearing environments influence post-release morphology, behaviour and survival. Consequently, we reviewed how reared and wild-born game birds differ and suggest methods by which more naturalistic rearing conditions may be achieved. We noted five areas where artificial rearing deviates substantially from natural conditions: absence of adults; unnatural chick densities; unnatural diet; unnatural physical environment; and exclusion of predation risk. Mimicking or introducing some of these elements in game bird rearing practice could bring two benefits: i) facilitating more natural behaviour by the chicks during rearing; and ii) ensuring that birds after release are better able to cope with natural hazards. Together, these could result in an improved overall welfare for game birds. For example, enrichment of the spatial environment may serve to both improve welfare pre-release and after release into the wild. However, some adaptations may induce poor welfare for a short period in the young birds. For example, exposure to predators may be temporarily stressful, but ultimately such experiences in early life may permit them to better cope with such threats when released into the wild. Therefore, to achieve an optimal welfare for the entirety of a game bird's life, a careful balance between the conditions experienced in early life and adequate preparation for later life in the wild is required.

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Section: Absence Of Adultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Summary Of Published Work That Specifically Assesses Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards

Madden¹,

Santilli²,

Whiteside³

2020

Anim. welf.

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“…However, the lack of parental care can have consequences on the behaviour and welfare of these birds and also affect their survival after their release into the wild. Santilli and Bagliacca (2019) compared the reaction of 4-week-old pheasants (brooded by a foster mother hen and artificially brooded) and found that the duration of TI differed significantly between the two groups of birds. Pheasants brooded by a foster hen showed a stronger response to aerial predator compared to artificially brooded pheasants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the chances of survival of captive-bred birds after their release into an unknown complex environment are questionable. Studies have shown that the young reared by their biological parents exhibit more effective anti-predatory behaviour including immobility than artificially brooded birds (Santilli and Bagliacca 2019). Defensive reactions increase the fitness of wild animals, their life expectancy is prolonged if they adopt effective behaviour to avoid danger, namely predators (Jones et al 1992;Dwyer 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of age and disturbance on fear in pheasants kept in a rearing facility

et al. 2022

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The survival of captive-reared pheasants in the wild depends primarily on their ability to avoid predators, therefore, pheasants need to maintain their innate anti-predatory behaviour. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of age and disturbance on tonic immobility (TI) in pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) kept in a commercial rearing facility. TI tests were performed in pheasants aged 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 weeks. Randomly selected pheasants of the same age were tested either immediately after capture (group C) or after exposure to various stimuli/disturbance (group D). No significant differences in the number of attempts to induce TI were found between the observed groups of pheasants (the vast majority of pheasants remained immobile on the first attempt). The effect of age was found only in group D, where birds aged 14 and 16 weeks showed a reduction in the duration of TI compared to younger birds. In group C, the duration of TI in pheasants of different ages did not differ. The results document a change in the duration of TI in response to an intense stimulus depending on the age of captive-reared pheasants. Knowledge of changes in anti-predatory behaviour depending on age and habituation to the environment and new stimuli is essential when determining the optimal age for pheasants to be released into the wild considering its impact on the subsequent survival of the released birds. Birds released at an older age and thus accustomed to repeated disturbances during captive rearing may have impaired defence behaviour.

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“…by favoring individual traits that improve response to risk and thus survival expectancy), rather than merely on the quantity, of released individuals. This includes favoring the translocation of wild-caught individuals when possible (Sokos et al 2008), or alternatively captive-reared populations promoting parental care that reduces the level of fear of animals compared to artificial rearing (Santilli and Bagliacca 2019), anti-predator training that promotes elicitation of motor behaviors in response to predators (Gaudioso et al 2011;Sánchez-García et al 2016), minimal human contact increasing the escape and fear-related behaviors to humans (Zaccaroni et al 2007), controlled pre-exposure to pathogens (Faria et al 2010) and the maintenance of high diversity of immunogenetics improving the response to infection within the captive population (Charpentier et al 2008). S1) and variable contributions (Tables S2, S3) are available in Online resource 1 Fig.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking personality and health to use of space in the gray partridge: perspectives for management

et al. 2021

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HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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Fear and behavior of young pheasants reared with or without parent figure

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards

The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards

Effects of age and disturbance on fear in pheasants kept in a rearing facility

Linking personality and health to use of space in the gray partridge: perspectives for management

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